So, in a nutshell, I've gotten more good news in two weeks than I have in 19 years of struggling in this business.

I don't deserve it any of it. But I'm sure happy it's happening.

More details to come as I'm allowed to reveal them. But feel free to spread the word about the AFRAID movie deal. Building buzz is important for this project to get greenlighted by a major studio.

I'd also be curious, for those who have read AFRAID, who you think should be cast as the heroes and villains. Since I have zero say in this, it's purely a fantasy exercise.

For the good guys I'd like Tom Skerritt as the Sheriff (though I wrote it picturing an older Bruce Willis), Mark Wahlberg as Josh the firefighter, Gwyneth Paltrow as Fran the waitress.

For bad guys, Andy Serkis would be a perfect homicidal pyro Bernie, William Baldwin would do a good job as the Ted Bundyesque Taylor, Lou Diamond Phillips would be cool as South American interrogator Santiago, and the hulking Ajax should go to Kane Hodder, who is a pro at that sort of role.

As for directors, the Dowdle Brothers are already attached, and a perfect fit. I loved QUARANTINE. I also loved their first film, THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES, about a serial killer who videotapes his victims (anyone who has read my Jack Daniels book WHISKEY SOUR will see some strong similarities.) POUGHKEEPSIE isn't out yet, but I got a bootleg through my nefarious underground connections. It's really a chilling movie, brilliantly executed. Can't wait until it comes out so I can get an official version.

Now I've got to stop fantasizing about Hollywood and get some writing done...

Congrats, Joe! But don't let it go to you're head because it's all just luck. :) Actually, Pat Robertson just told me it was because you made a pact with the Devil. I knew it had to be something like that.

Seriously, though, I'm glad to hear that you're moving forward. The best news, after the Afraid movie anouncement, was the negotiations on the seventh Jack Daniels novel. More Jack is always good news.

Savor the sudden flurry of wins, Joe! That sounds like a heck of a two week ride. I doubt you'll be coming down from that 'high' even if you want to. Especially the news about the largish six-figure deal. That's something I certainly dream about, and probably every other fiction writer who is not already a bestseller dreams of it too.

But I think I understand, a little, about having a rush of good things happen after a very long time struggling. For me, it was 17 years of unpublished toil, and in the last 60 days I had my break-in pro fiction sale plus a second, perhaps even more important pro fiction sale; to a market even some of my long-time pro friends haven't been able to crack!

I am hoping to keep the "balloon" rising in 2010 and score some more sales. But it feels mighty, mighty good to be finally cracking through with some significant wins of my own.

Okay, Joe, you say you don't "deserve" it. But how about karma? You've been pretty supportive to a lot of mystified, frustrated, and hopeful authors. So maybe all that good stuff is coming back at you. You say it's luck, but don't you think karma could be in play here? (And a lot of hard work doesn't hurt either.) Revel in it, baby!!!

What the hell d'ya mean "you don't deserve it"? In a world in which those horrid Twilight books are raking in billions, you deserve it tenfold! Bravo, Joe. And it's not just luck; it's skill. You've entertained me for years because you're GOOD not because you're lucky.

As for my cast of Afraid, well, I pictured a...strange mix of actors when I read the book (I always "cast" books when I read them. Dunno why). Here's a few of 'em I remember...